Madoff Behind Bars: Cocky and Unrepentant

So says a new profile from New York that digs into disgraced financier Bernie Madoff’s life in prison.

The findings? Madoff’s a celebrity within the walls of his North Carolina prison, a role he took to with glee. Inmates asked him for trading advice and frequently asked him for his autograph, though Madoff typically declined, fearful it’d prove fodder for eBay.

Madoff also has a slate of unlikely friends in the clink, like Jonathan Pollard, currently serving a life sentence for spying for Israel, and Carmine Persico, head of the Colombo crime family.

But above all else, Madoff — who fleeced victims to the tune of at least $65 billion — largely comes across as unrepentant for his crimes. “F*** my victims,” an inmate quotes Madoff as saying. “I carried them for twenty years, and now I’m doing 150 years.” For Madoff’s sake, it’s a good thing he’s adapted so well — the 72-year-old stands virtually no chance of ever being released. (via New York)